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Hilda Margaret Northcroft was born in Hamilton on 22 April 1882, the daughter of Henry William Northcroft, a resident magistrate, and his wife, Margaret Henderson. Her father was English and her mother Canadian. Hilda…

James Henry Gunson was born on 26 October 1877 in Auckland, New Zealand. He was the son of Jane Burton and her husband, William Gunson, a storeman who became a grain and seed merchant. Both parents were from the north…

Alexander Bruce was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, probably in 1838 or 1839, the son of a master mariner. His parents' names are unknown. He worked 2½ years as a page in the service of Lord Lindsay and then completed an…

Edith Mary Durrieu was born at Torquay, Devonshire, England, on 20 May 1871. She was the daughter of Marianne Feltham and her husband, Louis Adolphus Durrieu, an accountant. Edith travelled to New Zealand with her…

Samuelene Purcell was born in Gundry Street, Newton, Auckland, on 25 July 1898, the daughter of Irish immigrant parents Michael Joseph Purcell and his wife, Jane Galbraith, who both worked in the tailoring trade.…

Henry Ah Kew was born in Auckland on 22 September 1900, the son of James Ah Kew and his wife, Mellie Guey, also known as Mary Fong. Henry’s father, whose Chinese name was Yan Kew, was born in the Chinese province of…

Thomas Bloodworth was born on 10 February 1882 at Maxey, Northamptonshire, England, the seventh child of Ann Jesson and her husband, Thomas Bloodworth, a groom and gardener. He left the village school at 10, and was…

James Henry Bradney was born at West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England, on 2 April 1853, the son of Emily Morris and her husband, Joseph Bradney, an ironmonger. The family emigrated to Auckland, New Zealand, in 1859,…

Leo Lemuel White was born at Auckland on 4 July 1906 to May Rae and her husband, Albert Edward White, a carter. He was educated at Ellerslie and Remuera schools. After completing the sixth standard he joined the Post…

Thomson Wilson Leys was born at Snenton (Sneinton), near Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England, on 23 April 1850, the son of Hannah Hartley Wilson and her husband, William Leys, a supervisor of inland revenue. Thomson…

Alexander Kingcome Turner was born in Auckland on 18 November 1901, the son of Joseph Hurst Turner, a teacher, and his wife, Gertrude Kingcome Reid, the daughter of a leading Methodist minister. He attended Mount Eden…

A brewery baron for half a century, and the liquor trade's master tactician against the prohibition movement, Ernest Hyam Davis exerted enormous influence at the highest political levels. He combined this with a complex…

Frances Southwell was born probably some time between 1827 and 1829 at Clifton, Gloucestershire, England. Her parents were Martha and John Southwell. On 24 October 1848 at Boyton, Wiltshire, she married Thomas Shayle…

William Griffin was born in Britain probably in 1810 or 1811, the son of John Griffin and his wife, Ann Bolt. Very little is known of his life in Britain, but he is said to have been active in the Chartist movement. He…

Pansy Helen Auld Chapman was born at Blacks Point, Reefton, on 24 November 1892. Her parents, Hender Chapman, a miner, and his wife, Elizabeth Ann Richards, were both from Cornwall. At the age of 19 Helen Chapman…

Edward Mahony was born at Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland, probably in 1824 or 1825; his parents' names are unknown. As a young man he was apprenticed to his uncle, John Mahony, an architect and builder in Cork, a…

Frederick George Ewington was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, England, on 27 May 1844, the son of William Ewington, a labourer, and his wife, Jane Briers. Frederick was educated at nearby High Barnet. He arrived at…

Hugh William Segar was born at Liverpool, England, on 31 January 1868, the son of Robert Segar, a journeyman baker, and his wife, Sarah Liddy (née Hughes). He was educated at Liverpool Collegiate Institution. At 16…

James William Tibbs, headmaster of Auckland Grammar School for nearly 30 years, was a key figure in the development of secondary education in New Zealand. He was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on 27 October 1855, the first…

Lewis Alfred Eady was born in Auckland on 12 May 1891 into a staunch Congregationalist family, already well known in Auckland musical circles. His father was Lewis Roberts Eady, a musician who tuned pianos and traded in…